Improvement in machines for grooving sewinghhachine needles



. 2SheetsSheet1. W. H. DAYTON &. I. ALLDI MACHINES FOR enoovmeSEWING-MACHINE NEEDLES. 210.18%,347. Pafcented Nov.14, 1876.

THE GRAPHIC COMM MACHINES FOR GROOVING SEWING-MACHINE NEEDLES.,No..184,347. Patented Nov. H, 1876.

"i 1 o Ir illllillli'ihn n?! THE GRAPHIC DO.N.Y

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. DAYTON AND JAMES ALLDIS, OE TORRINGTON, ASSIGNORS TOEXCELSIOR NEEDLE COMPANY, OF WOLOOTTVILLE, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR GROOVING SEWING'MACHINE NEEDLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 184,347, dated November14, 1876; application filed September 4, 1876. V

'To all whom it may concern:

- cut, have invented an Improvement in Grooving Sewing Machine Needles,of'which the following is a specification:

This machine is to facilitate the insert-ion of the needle, and thesupporting of the shank while the grooves are being cut in the sides ofthe needle, and for properly positioning the flattened or knife-shapedend of the needles employedin sewing leather, so that the grooves mayoccupy the correct relation to the'point. We also bring the cutters upto the needle automatically, so as to lessen the risk of injury to thecutters by carelessness on the part of the attendant, and also to lessenthe work of the attendant, and enable him to oversee and supply a largernumber of machines than heretofore.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a plan of the needle-holding bed. Fig. 2isan end elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is aside view of the mechanism forfeeding one of the cutters up to its work, and Fig. 4. is a detachedview of v the point-regulator.

The base a of the machineis adapted to re ceive the sliding bed b, thatcarries the needleclamp and other operative parts and above the bed is aframe or head-block, c, with the revolving grooving-cutters and theirsupporting-slides. The bed b has upon it the block d and clamping-leverd, the contiguous surfaces of which are channeled to receive betweenthem the needle to be grooved, and the edges of these clamps are beveledto expose the sides of the needle, and allow the revolving cutters toact upon the same, as seen in Fig. 2.

The clamp d is operated by the turningrod 01 with a handle, 2, at oneend, and acam at the other end, acting beneathacross-lever,

3, upon which rests the adjusting-screw 4 of.

the clamping-lever al By turning the rod d the operator causes theclamps to grasp the needle, or to relieve the same. These parts haveheretofore been used in grooving needles.

When the needleis introduced in the clamps, the larger portion or shankprojects, and we employ apairof sliding pinchers to grasp and hold thestock, and by means of saidl pinchers the needle is entered orwithdrawn.

There are two guide-rods, 5 and 6, project- 'ing from the end ot'the bedb, and upon these slides the stock fot' the swinging pinchers g g, thearm 7 of thejaw g of the pinchers having a cylindrical barrel around thestock f, so that the pinchers can be swung laterally, and they can.slide longitudinally upon the rods 5 and 6; and there are stops 25 and26 upon the stock f, to determine the points to which the pinchers maybe swung.

With needles having flattened or awl-shaped points, we use thepoint-regulator t, (see Fig. 4,) that is made of a stud having a grooveor slit across it, into which the flattened point of the needle isplaced 5 then the pinchers are moved up and caused tograsp the shank ofthe needle.

The pinchers and needle are now drawn back, and the arm and pinchersswung up to the position for inserting the needle into the clamp 01 tiand then the needle is pushed forward into place between the clamps. andheld, as aforesaid.

There is a guide-hole in the block 8, in front of the point-regulator 6,through which guide hole the operator inserts the needle, and the Iflattened point enters the slot of the point-regulator, and determinesits position relatively to the pinchers; and this point-regulator can beturned around and clamped in its bearingblock to adjust it, so that theflattened or knife point of the needle may occupy the correct positionto the cutters after it has been entered by the pinchers in between theclamps 01 d 7 In sewing-machine needles, the grooves for the threadusually run the entire length of the needle at one side, and extend ashort distance each side of the eye at the other side.

The cutter 7c is for making the long groove,

ive cutter-mandrels, so that the necessary lateral movement can be givento cause thecutters to pass into the needle to the depth of the groove,as now practiced.

To effect this object, the shaft 12 is made use of; it passes across thehead-block c, behind the rests c 0 and there is upon said shaft a'cam,that acts against the rest 0 to give the same the lateral motion as theshaft 12 is partially revolved.

Heretofore, however, it has been usual for the attendant to move thecutter up against the side of the needle by hand-power applied to turnthe cam-shaft 12, that operates upon the rest 0 In doing this the'forceexerted is often too great, and the teeth of the cutter 7a are injuredby cutting too heavy shavings from the steel needle. To avoid thisdifficulty we employ the device next described.

The pinion Z is revolved by power, preferably by a belt passing from thepulley 10 upon the shaft of the screw that gives end motion to the bedI), such belt passingaround the guidepulleys 1.

Upon the end. of the shaft 12 there is a segmental rack, m, gearing intothe pinion l, and there is a handle, 13, upon this rack, so that theoperator can turn the segment around until the end thereof touches thepinion Z, and then the pinion will move the segment gradually andregularly, and feed up the cutter against the side of the needle, andcontinue this feedmovement until the rack m moves clear of the pinion l,and in this position the slide-rest c and cutter is will be held whilethe bed I) is moved along end wise, and the longitudinal groove cut inthe needle.

We are aware that cutters have been moved laterally up against a needleto groove the same, and for this purpose a shaft and cam have beenemployed to act upon the slide-rest carrying the cutter-arbor. It willbe apparent that the shape and position of this cam may be varied tosuit the size of the needle to be operated upon, and the other parts ofthe mechanism. This cam is shown in the drawing at 35.

shaft 12 partially around, after which he withdraws the grooved needle,and inserts another needle and proceeds as before.

We will now describe the means for automatically feeding up the cutterk. The shaft 12 has upon the opposite'eud to the rack m a wheel, 4, thatis adjustable toward or from the slide-rest c by screws 15, passingthrough a cross-head at the end of the shaft 12.

There is a tooth, 17, upon the inner face of the wheel 7', and aninclined stud, 18, upon the side of the slide-rest 0 When the rack m hasmoved clear of the pinion, the tooth 17 is near the stud 18, and it soremains while the bed bis moving along and the cutter is cutting thelong groove of the needle; but just before the completion of themovement of the bed I) the adjustable link 8, extending from a stud, 8at one edge of the bed, and attached to the lever-arm t upon the studit, causes said arm t to press against the projection 20 upon the wheel1", and move the same partially around, and by the tooth 17 pressingupon the tooth 18 the slide-rest c is moved, and the cutter is fed up tothe needle to cut a groove in the same where the eye is to be made insaid needle. These devices for bringing up the second cutterautomatically at the proper time are similar to those that haveheretofore been used.

These movements being completed, the bed is stopped by the lever-arm tturning the shaft 12 sufficiently to allow the hook-ended lifter n toslip off the cam 12, and thereby drop the half-nut from out of contactwith the feeding-screw.

In this needle-grooving machine the point regulator is out of the way ofany chips, and does not become obstructed, as is the case when thepoint-regulator is'between or formed by the jaws.

The post to upon the bed b supports the I shank of the needle outsidethe clampingjaws while it is being grooved; hence there is not anyvibration of the needle, and risk of bending the same is overcome.

We claimas our invention- 1. The needle-pinchers g g, sliding endwiseupon the rods 5 and 6, in combination with the holding jaws d d andgrooving-tools, substantially as set forth.

2. The detached point-regulator z, in combination with the pinchers,holding-jaws, and grooving-cutters, substantially as set forth.

3. In combination with the revolving grooving-cutter 70, its rest a,shaft 12, and cam 35, acting to move the rest and cutter laterally, thesegment m upon the shaft 12, and the revolving pinion l, to move suchsegment m gradually, for the purposes and substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with the holding-jaws and grooving-cutters, of thepost w, applied substantially as set forth, to support the shank of theneedle at the commencement of the grooving operation, as set forth.

Signed by us this 28th day of August, A. D. 1876.

WILLIAM H. DAYTON. JAMES ALLDIS.

Witnesses:

CHAS. L. MoNEIL, JoHN H. WADHAM.

